His lawyers have served papers on Mr Straw after the Sunday Times reported claims that he allowed this to happen.

UK ministers have denied any complicity in rendition or torture and Mr Straw did not comment further.

He said he could not do so because of the ongoing police investigation into the UK's alleged role in illegal rendition.

Earlier this month, the BBC revealed that the UK government had approved the rendition of Mr Belhadj and his wife - Fatima Bouchar - to Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime, though it was unclear at what level.

On 15 April, the Sunday Times published an article, which quoted sources as alleging Mr Straw had personally authorised Mr Belhadj's rendition to Libya.

On Tuesday, Mr Belhadj's lawyers - Leigh Day & Co - served papers on Mr Straw, referencing the article and seeking his response to allegations that he was complicit in torture and misfeasance in public office.

The civil action is against Mr Straw personally - Mr Belhadj's lawyers believe it is the first time legal action of this kind has been taken against a former foreign secretary.

Mr Belhadj and his wife allege Mr Straw was complicit in the "torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, batteries and assaults" which they say were perpetrated on them by Thai and US agents, as well as the Libyan authorities.

STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No.1241
13 April 2012
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 0207 561 9311
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition
1) MAKE YOUR MP WORK TO STOP IRAN WAR
2) REPLY TO CALL FOR NATO INTERVENTION IN SYRIA
3) PROTEST NO TO NATO: US EMBASSY 19 MAY
4) DON'T IRAQ IRAN - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
5) THREE VIDEOS RECOMMENDED BY STOP THE WAR
********************************
1) MAKE YOUR MP WORK TO STOP IRAN WAR
We are asking all our supporters to lobby MPs to help stop another war. Today

As we mark the 100-year anniversary of the unsinkable Titanic sinking, we should recall both the good and bad of that long-forgotten world of 1912. Were an unbelievably expensive means of luxury travel between the United States and Europe invented today, there would be no reason to expect peace activists to be found among the passengers. But it is not at all surprising that among the first-class passengers on the world's largest ship in 1912 was a well-known advocate of peace. This is what Wikipedia has to say about him:

"William Thomas Stead (5 July 1849 – 15 April 1912) was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. . . .

On April 7 Fox News Chicago reported on Occupy Chicago’s march through the city’s downtown, the Loop, recording that hundreds of protesters chanted “End the war, tax the rich” during part of the group’s Chicago Spring actions throughout the city “as the movement prepares for NATO.”

U.S. Military Bases in Germany and a Brief History of Protests Against Them
By Elsa Rassbach

On September 25, 2009, U.S. and NATO commanders emblematically chose Ramstein Air Base
in Germany to announce the request of General Stanley McChrystal for 40,000 or more
additional U.S. troops for Afghanistan -- even before they presented this request to lawmakers in Washington. Roughly halfway between Washington and General McChrystal’s headquarters in Kabul, Ramstein is the largest U.S. overseas military airbase and also a NATO installation. The war in Afghanistan is partly a NATO war, but if NATO partners such as Germany were to oppose escalation, the U.S. could still use Ramstein and other bases in Europe for waging a functionally unilateral war , not unlike the Iraq war.

Unlike President Barack Obama, who has refused to prosecute American intelligence agents involved in the kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects, leaders in Poland have charged their former top spymaster for helping the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) imprison detainees in their country.

Zbigniew Siemiatkowski, the former head of Poland’s intelligence service, faces charges of violating international law by “unlawfully depriving prisoners of their liberty” while allowing the CIA to hold and interrogate detainees at a secret base near Szymany Airport, north of Warsaw. Siemiatkowski was the intelligence chief from 2002 to 2004, the period when the CIA prison in Poland was in operation.

The New York Times reported that all three of the CIA prisoners who are known to have been waterboarded spent time in Poland, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the architect of the September 11, 2001, attacks; Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is charged in the 2000 bombing of the American destroyer Cole; and Abu Zubaydah, who ran a terrorist camp and facilitated militants’ travel.

The Polish media reported that former Prime Minister Leszek Miller, who served in office last decade while the extraordinary renditions took place, may, at the least, be called to testify. Poland’s president at the time, Aleksander Kwasniewski, has said that he didn’t know about the CIA prison until U.S. President George W. Bush thanked him during a visit to Poland in June 2003. Bush’s thanks were “so profuse” that Kwasniewski knew “something was not right” considering that Polish support for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq had been relatively limited.

“We try to treat our Constitution seriously and try not to forget the fact that there was a manifest violation of the Polish Constitution within the country’s borders,” Adam Bodnar, vice president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, based in Warsaw, told The New York Times. He added, “I remember the lessons of constitutionality given by the Americans in the early ’90s, always saying to us, you have to create a new constitution and every action by state authorities must have limits. Poland has just learned this lesson well.”

1 April 2012. Around 2am 800 peace activists from more than ten European countries gathered near NATO headquarters in Evere, Brussels. 500 people tried nonviolently to enter the NATO compound. About 20 activists succeeded to enter the military site, 483 people were arrested. At the main entrance of the NATO headquarters 300 supporters cheered the intervention teams.

When peace is at stake, nonviolent intervention is necessary. NATO is a select club of countries that globally wages war, deploys nuclear weapons and is prepared to use them in a first strike. This military alliance is a danger for world peace. On May 20th and 21st, the heads of government of NATO member states will gather in Chicago. Today’s nonviolent intervention sends them a clear message: NATO creates more problems than it solves.

NATO Game Over – international action of civil disobedienceNATO GAME OVER is an action of civil disobedience. Nonviolent intervention teams tried to enter the NATO area in order to prevent a more serious crime, the preparation of war crimes.Delegations from Germany, the Netherlands, France, UK, Finland, Sweden, Turkey, Italy, Portugal and Spain participated in the action alongside Belgian activists.They all have a clear message for the government leaders who are meeting in Chicago for the NATO Summit on May 20th and 21st: “We do not want a missile defence shield, We do not want NATO soldiers in Libya or Afghanistan, We do not want dangerous, useless and illegal nuclear weapons”.

Remove nuclear weaponsNATO's deterrence and defense strategy will prove to be a difficult issue. Since the last NATO summit in November 2010, the alliance has been looking for “the appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional and missile defense forces”, under the NATO Deterrence and Defence Posture Review. NATO member states will need to agree on the future role of the approximately 200 American tactical nuclear weapons that are still deployed in five European countries. NATO bureaucracy is keen on maintaining the status quo.However, nuclear weapons cannot be used without violating international humanitarian law and their deployment is a preparation of war crimes. These weapons do not serve any military purpose, and a majority of European citizens want them removed. NATO must overcome Cold War thinking, re-adjust its nuclear policy and withdraw these nuclear weapons. A failure to do so will be an obstacle for further nuclear disarmament.

Stop military interventionIn Chicago, NATO-secretary general Rasmussen wants to decide on the priorities for the further expansion of NATO’s military intervention apparatus. The war in Afghanistan proves the failure of military intervention. Under the pretext of ‘Responsibility to Protect’, NATO attacked Libya to force a profitable regime change. The war left Libya a fragmented country, where armed militias struggle for power.

(AFP) BRUSSELS — Hundreds of peace activists on Sunday tried in vain to break into the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in Brussels, with 483 of them arrested by police.

The demonstration, organised by the Belgian association Action for Peace two months before a NATO summit in Chicago, was called to protest the alliance's intervention in Afghanistan and Libya, and nuclear arming.

"No demonstrator was able to enter NATO headquarters," spokesman for Brussels police, Christian De Coninck, told AFP. "We detained 483 people for questioning and all of them should be free in the evening."

A Russia-NATO summit, which was scheduled in May, is cancelled. According to the official version, the summit was cancelled over “an intensive domestic political calendar in Russia.” However, the experts believe that this step is caused by disagreements of the parties concerned over the European missile defence system.

STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No.1239
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition
1) DAY OF PROTEST, SAT 24TH MARCH
2) ONLINE PETITION
3) NEW MATERIALS
***************
1) DAY OF PROTEST, SAT 24TH MARCH:
DON'T IRAQ IRAN, TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN
The unravelling of the war in Afghanistan has been apparent in recent weeks.
The shooting of 16 Afghans, mostly women and children, by a US soldier, surely
marked a turning point in the war as Afghans reacted with anger to the latest
in a long line of outrages by demanding the soldier was put on trial in their
country. The Americans responded by flying him to Kansas. This week both their
ally President Karzai and their enemy the Taliban have underlined just how
much the western powers are losing the war. Karzai demanded that ISAF troops
should be confined to barracks while the Taliban broke off talks.
You would hardly know this from the summit in Washington last week which saw
Cameron and Obama feting each other in the White House. Instead they said the
war was on course and would continue till 2014 (although they are privately
bringing the dates forward as they know it is unlikely to hold for that long).
Even worse they made clear their determination to attack Iran. The recent
visit by Israeli prime minister Netanyahu to the US piled on the pressure to
back an attack. This week the Israeli deputy prime minister is visiting London
to drum up support for an attack on Iran and is clearly confident of winning
the backing of the US and British governments.
We have held successful protests and meetings over both issues in recent weeks,
particularly attracting young people. This Saturday we have a national day of
protest based around 'Don't Iraq Iran' - see http://bit.ly/x67PUk. On the 9th
anniversary of the attack on Iraq, and the first anniversary of the bombing of
Libya, the interest in anti war activity is being heightened. Protests can
bring in these issues, plus the threats to Syria. This is the chance to get out
on the streets and build a campaign against the next main threat.
See http://bit.ly/x67PUk for more details on the day of protest.
***************
2) ONLINE PETITION
Our letter to the Guardian against an attack on Iran, which was signed by a
number of celebrities, will go live in the next few days as an online
petition. We want as many signatories on it as possible. Check the website and
add your name.
***************
3) NEW MATERIALS
We have a range of new materials available now or soon, to spread the message
about the don't attack Iran campaign: '10 reasons' leaflets, 'don't Iraq Iran'
badges, special tote bags, 'Who's threatening who' maps of the region and
posters.
Contact 0207 561 9311 or office@stowpar.org.uk to order or for more
information.

STOP THE WAR COALITION
Urgent Stop the War Bulletin
http://stopwar.org.uk
Vigil 6-7 pm, Monday 12 March,
Trafalgar Square,
London SW1
Called by Afghans for Peace, supported by Stop the War.
The cold blooded killing of fifteen Afghan civilians, including young
children, by a US soldier in Kandahar Province earlier today is an outrage
that encapsulates the brutality of the occupation of Afghanistan. It comes
at a time of widespread anger against NATO forces, and growing calls for
the occupation to end.
The Stop the War Coalition is supporting a vigil called tomorrow night,
Monday 12th, by Afghans for Peace in Trafalgar Square at 6pm.
We are urging anyone who can to attend the event to protest at today's
atrocity and to demand all NATO troops are withdrawn from the country
immediately.

Virginia's Fifth Congressional District had been long disgraced by the racist buffoon Democrat turned Republican Virgil Goode when Tom Perriello was elected as a non-racist buffoon Democrat in 2008. For partisans, just getting elected and doing what President Obama told him was all Perriello needed to do. For national "progressives" he was a star, which was usually explained to me in terms of how awful his district was relative to how limitedly awful he was.

Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) Not one more death in Afghanistan
2) 'Don't Iraq Iran' day of protest Saturday March 24
3) Report from Stop the War's national conference
4) Students pledge mass protests
***************
1) NOT ONE MORE DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN - BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW
The death of six British soldiers in an explosion in Helmand was a tragedy that
never should have happened. That over 400 British troops have now died there
underlines the fact that the occupation has been a disaster bringing nothing
but misery and destruction to the Afghan people. But it is also now widely
recognised as a failed operation, and it is a scandal that troops are still
being asked to kill and be killed there.
Local groups are organising vigils, namings of the dead and protests this
weekend to mark the death of the 400th soldier. Please go to

The beautiful thing about the internet is that whenever you write an essay on a topic you imagine is new, some wonderful person contacts you within about an hour who's written a whole book about it. This is different from writing a book about something new (or old) like the Kellogg-Briand Pact (everybody still thinks it must be a breakfast cereal).

Fredrik Heffermehl's book "The Nobel Peace Prize: What Nobel Really Wanted," is a wonderful thing to discover. I understand if you just can't stomach discovering that Norway and the committee that hands out the peace prizes have become as corrupted as a Congressman. But if awardees like George Marshall, Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, and Barack Obama already had you scratching your head a little bit, you may appreciate learning the details of where the prize bestowers ran off the rails and how they might manage to climb back aboard the peace train.

Alfred Nobel left behind a legally binding will that required giving a prize to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Like the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, the Nobel Committee has largely abandoned its original mission. Carnegie and Nobel are dead and none the wiser, but those of us who like the idea of a well-funded peace movement are painfully aware.

The Nobel prize for peace was not designed as merely an honor, but as a significant source of funding for "work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Yet, with each annual prize, as with each year's operation of the Carnegie Endowment, the peace movement is none the better funded. Warmongers take the funding, or admirable and heroic humanitarians take the funding, but these are not people working toward or even believing in the desirability of the aims for which the prize was created and legally established in Nobel's will.

Heffermehl examines the language of the will in the original Swedish, the thinking and influences that went into it, the reasons why Nobel chose the Norwegian parliament to appoint the committee for the administration of the prize, and the activities and the worldviews of what Nobel termed in the will "champions of peace." Legally, Heffermehl argues, it is the will that counts, not each and every opinion Nobel might have held at some point in his life. While peace congresses are still held, work is still done to abolish standing armies, and many working on these projects also work for what Heffermehl translates as confraternity among nations, much of this work is little known in the media and unknown to the prize committee, which has lost touch with its mission.

Heffermehl argues persuasively that no Nobel prize for peace has been awarded with appropriate justification since 2001. In fact, in his analysis, 50 of the 120 prizes given between 1901 and 2009 were not justified. Heffermehl bases that judgment primarily on the case made for each laureate by the committee awarding the prize. Were he to examine the laureates and those passed over, the number of unjustified prizes might increase.

Heffermehl also looks at the justification for the prizes awarded under each of the 12 committee chairs and six committee secretaries that have ever held those posts. The two chairs who have served since 2003 receive far and away the worst scores, while the two who served up through 1941 score dramatically better than the others. Similarly, the two secretaries who held that position up through 1945 receive high marks, while the one, Geir Lundestad, who has been Secretary since 1990 has, in Heffermehl's scoring, performed miserably.

World War II shifted thinking in Norway and elsewhere toward militarism and the notion of the inevitability of war. While France and Germany have ceased attacking each other, there hasn't been a war between wealthy powers in 70 years, and the only wars we have now are against poor countries, somehow common wisdom holds that the abolition of war is a silly idea. But is legally complying with a dead man's will a silly idea too?

After World War II it wasn't just thinking that changed, but procedure as well. No longer does the Norwegian parliament choose the most qualified peace leaders to serve on the committee. Instead, each political party picks committee members in proportion to the party's strength in the parliament, even if the party is pro-war.

Yet it was not until 1990 that the real corruption began to eat away at Nobel's legacy. Lundestad has created more pompous ceremonies, an annual concert, and a permanent Nobel Peace Center in Oslo filled with cutting edge technology. While the five-member committee in Norway used to have no need for funding, the prizes simply being awarded directly to the laureates, now funding became critical, and much of that funding became corporate. Are images of the fancy new DC building belonging to the "United States Institute of Peace (unless there's a war)" flashing through your mind? Lundestad is a professional fundraiser now who finds time for Bilderberg conferences but not peace congresses.

Heffermehl made his case in Norwegian pre-Obama, and was oh-so-predictably-and-depressingly hopeful when the committee absurdly bestowed its prize on the new U.S. President in 2009. It was Obama's pro-war acceptance speech that led Heffermehl to unhesitatingly add him to the list of undeserving laureates. But there were other reasons. Heffermehl claims to have a source who knows that promotion of Oslo as a tourist destination weighed in the selection of Obama. Alfred Nobel had, of course, not mentioned that motivation in his will at all.

Heffermehl proposes that Nobel's will be followed, that the commercial activities of the Nobel Foundation be dropped, and that the combination of the roles of committee secretary and commercial director be ended. I think he has a point.

Here's a video of Lundestad disingenuously defending the selection of Barack Obama.

Lundestad is scheduled to speak on Saturday, March 3rd, in Minnesota, where Coleen Rowley will be asking him pertinent questions about faithfulness to Nobel's will. If you can't make it to Minnesota, you can sign this petition Rowley has set up.

If this thing gets turned around and Nobel peace prizes are awarded for a number of years to real champions of peace, then it should almost go without saying that Fredrik Heffermehl, who has created a formal investigation of the matter in Sweden, will have earned himself the prize as well.

The Italian Coalition Stop That Train celebrates the news that the City Council of Naples, Italy has approved a motion condemning Pizzarotti for its involvement in a project in blatant violation of international law, the Israeli high-speed train cutting through the occupied Palestinian territories. The decision of the Naples City Council, which follows that of Rho (Milan) on November 30, 2011, is a strong sign for responsible action by local authorities, in this case one of Italy’s largest cities.

Stop That Train congratulates the Committee "For a Pizzarotti-Free Naples!" for the work done to mobilize citizens in support of the Campaign and in establishing dialog with the local administration in order to encourage it to take a stand on the issue.

Baltasar Garzón, a high-profile Spanish judge, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that his decision to investigate killings committed during the Spanish Civil War had been motivated by “the helplessness of the victims.” With arguments finished, the Supreme Court would normally be expected to rule within about 20 days, although no deadline has been set. If found guilty, Mr. Garzón, 56, could be suspended as a judge for as long as 20 years, a sanction that would effectively end his career. His 2008 attempt to investigate killings from the Spanish Civil War was brought to a swift end because of the political controversy that it set off. But right-wing groups started legal action against him, charging that he had overreached his authority and knowingly contravened a 1977 general amnesty that covers crimes perpetrated during the war.

Garzon has also tried to investigate US crimes and been blocked, though not as swiftly or entirely, by Obama-Pressure. Perhaps the United States should return the favor and look into the crimes of the Spanish Civil War. Sadly, the U.S. reputation is such that the favor would be laughed at.

February 8, 2012, New York and Madrid – Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) submitted a declaration to a Spanish court detailing the torture of Mohammed al Qahtani, who has been detained without charge or trial at Guantánamo since 2002. The submission follows Spanish Investigating Judge Pablo Ruz Gutierrez’s recent order to proceed with the probe into the U.S. torture program.

Mr. al Qahtani was the victim of the “First Special Interrogation Plan,” a regime of aggressive interrogation techniques amounting to torture personally authorized by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Mr. al Qahtani is the only prisoner held at Guantánamo Bay the U.S. has officially admitted to torturing. Mr. al Qahtani’s treatment, much of which is described in detail in the declaration through his own words, includes 48 days of sleep deprivation, 20-hour interrogations, forced nudity, sexual humiliation, religious humiliation, physical force, prolonged stress positions, and prolonged sensory overstimulation. In addition, the document details the effects of the interrogation, which included Mr. al Qahtani’s severe emotional distress, inability to control his bladder, and visual and auditory hallucinations. Time Magazine obtained and published a detailed log of his interrogations in 2005.

Katherine Gallagher, a Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitution Rights, said, “This declaration details the severe psychological and physical trauma suffered by Mr. al Qahtani as a result of the brutal treatment he was subjected to at Guantánamo through techniques that are in direct violation of the Geneva Convention and the Convention Against Torture. That the high-level U.S. officials alleged to be responsible for this criminal conduct, including Donald Rumsfeld and Geoffrey Miller, continue to enjoy impunity domestically is a stain on the U.S. system of justice. We hope that this declaration will provide valuable evidence for use in holding these officials accountable in Spain, a venue that is willing to investigate torture.”

The declaration, compiled from Mr. al Qahtani’s own accounts by his attorney at CCR, provides a thorough description of his treatment in response to Judge Ruz’s request for more information about the program. Former CCR attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez conducted client interviews with Mr. al Qahtani during 27 trips to Guantánamo between December 2005 and November 2009. The declaration identifies Major General Geoffrey Miller as responsible for both authorizing and implementing the interrogation techniques used on Mr. al Qahtani that led to his torture. Miller was the commander of Guantánamo and was later implicated in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal after being appointed Deputy Commanding General of Detention Operations in Iraq.

Wolfgang Kaleck, Secretary General of the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which joined CCR in providing a dossier outlining Geoffrey Miller’s liability for torture to Judge Ruz last year, said “The way the United States has dealt with established torture claims has been appalling. Those claims are now in the hands of the Spanish judiciary. Today’s submission before Judge Ruz greatly adds to the evidence previously presented against Geoffrey Miller and we hope the judge will act on it.”

The case, which Judge Ruz inherited from Judge Baltasar Garzón, has been ongoing since April 2009, when Garzón opened a preliminary investigation into what he termed “an authorized and systematic plan of torture and ill-treatment on persons deprived of their freedom without any charge and without the basic rights of any detainee…” The investigation stemmed from a previous court case in which four former Guantánamo detainees at the center of the case were found to have been tortured. That investigation concluded that facts of the case related to violations under the Spanish Penal Code, the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Organic Law of the Judicial Power (article 23.4.) Judge Ruz’s recent order was precipitated, in part, by a decision to proceed with the investigation after the U.S. and U.K. governments failed to respond to letters rogatory issued by the Spanish court that requested information about any domestic investigations in those countries.

CCR filed cases against Donald Rumsfeld in Germany and France, and released a Bush Torture Indictment, under the Convention Against Torture, ready to be tailored to the specific laws of any of the 147 signatory countries to the Convention Against Torture where he may travel. CCR has led the legal battle over Guantanamo in the U.S. for the last 10 years – representing clients in two Supreme Court cases and organizing and coordinating hundreds of pro bono lawyers across the country to represent the men at Guantanamo, ensuring that nearly all have the option of legal representation. Among other Guantánamo cases, the Center represents the families of men who died at Guantánamo, and men who have been released and are seeking justice in international courts.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Visit www.ccrjustice.org and follow @theCCR.

Alfred Nobel's will, written in 1895, left funding for a prize to be awarded to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No.1233
01 February 2012
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) CLEARING THE GROUND FOR WAR AGAINST IRAN
2) STOP THE WAR IS MOVING OFFICE
3) STOP THE WAR ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
4) STOP THE WAR 2012 NO MORE WAR APPEAL: MANY THANKS
5) ROOTS & RISE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA IN EUROPE
6) THE GIRL KILLED BY BARACK OBAMA - SHE NEVER SAW IT COMING
************************************

Stockholm's County Administrative Board — the authority that supervises foundations and trusts in the city — has formally asked the Nobel Foundation to respond to allegations that the peace prize no longer reflects the will of Nobel, a Swedish industrialist who died in 1896.

The move comes after persistent complaints by Norwegian peace researcher Fredrik Heffermehl, who claims the original purpose of the prize was to diminish the role of military power in international relations.

"Nobel called it a prize for the champions of peace," Heffermehl told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "And it's indisputable that he had in mind the peace movement, the movement which is actively pursuing a new global order ... where nations safely can drop national armaments."

Since World War II, especially, the prize committee, which is appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, has widened the scope of the prize to include environmental, humanitarian and other efforts.

For example, in 2007 the prize went to climate campaigner Al Gore and the U.N.'s panel on climate change, and in 2009 the committee cited President Barack Obama for "extraordinary efforts" to boost international diplomacy.

"Do you see Obama as a promoter of abolishing the military as a tool of international affairs?" Heffermehl asked rhetorically.

On 28 January 2012 at the United States Embassy in London, Stop the War held a rally to launch the Don't Attack Iran campaign. Among the speakers (videos below) were Tony Benn, Kate Hudson, John Rees, Roger Lloyd Pack, Andrew Murray, John McDonnell MP, Sarah Colborne, Kevin Ovenden.

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